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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 5, 1955)
+ EMERALD EDITORIALS + ‘Busy-work’ Girls The Emerald has long and loudly com plained about the non-honorary honoraries oit campus. These selective groups, we feel, no longer represent the reward and recog nition for service they should. Most of them have degenerated into mere “busy-work" clubs. Worst among the offenders, in our opin ion, is Phi Theta Upsilon, junior women’s honorary. This group of 20 outstanding junior women on campus has been con fronted with a burden of extra-curricular work that would stagger the imagination of the most activity-conscious young lady of the freshman class. The Phi Thetas this year have been, are being or will be asked to participate as a group in the following range of busy work projects: Ushering at concerts, car rying suitcases and operating information booths during New Student week, selling Homecoming buttons, selling programs at football games, selling subscriptions to magazines, serving at all-campus lunch eons, registering alums at Homecoming, conducting their annual “Mystie” sale. •This year the group wisely put its collec tive foot down and balked at some of the tasks they were assigned. The line had to be drawn somewhere. We are not opposed to the idea of an honorary, in general, or Phi Theta, in par ticular. We merely object to having one group of 20 girls being expected to carry on so much busy work. The activity load of the Phi Thetas can certainly not be blamed on President Germaine La Marche, who in many instances has probably been forced by tradition and pressure from higher-ups to lead the group in its busy work projects. Many of Phi Theta’s activities are money making projects, for the junior women's honorary is expected to sponsor scholarships each year. This is a worthy idea, but hardly worth over-burdening the members of the honorary with money schemes. Someone probably has to sell programs and usher at concerts. But why pick ushers and saleswomen from among the busiest women on campus? . Most of the members of Phi Theta hold responsible positions in various campus or ganization, such as the ASUO senate, Stu dent Union board and directorate, Emerald, Oregana. They are already carrying major activity loads. Failure to perform assigned duties in their activity field in order to jump through the Phi Theta hoop can cause confusion and harm to the other groups with which they are affiliated. Druids, the men’s counterpart of Phi Theta, has come to a realization of this situ ation and wisely expects its members to par ticipate in no major busy work projects. Druids remains an honorary; activity chas ing is left to the sophomore groups, which have both the time and inclination for such tasks. Phi Theta Upsilon would do well to re consider its position on campus. Activities should not be piled on activities. Busy work should be left to those who have the time. Ladefinsky Case So often we hear the plea: “What this country needs is more good men in govern ment.” Bah! The way good men have been treated lately anyone with sense would want to avoid government service like the plague. .The past few years have seen our govern ment degenerate and give in to the forces of panic, fear, bigoted Americanism and short sighted political pandering. Oh sure, the pure are still there. We like Ike and we like lots of other good men that are working their lives out in behalf of their country. But what happens when this degenerate force gets hold of one of these good men— picks him up, breaks him and smashes him down upon rocks of dishonor? Who helps the good man then? No one! Yes, there's a lot of talk and there's indignation, hut this does not give the good man his job hack, his life hack, and it does not clear him of the smear. And they want us to go into govern ment work. They Want us to become good men and work and give our life to help ing our country. Why? So we can get picked up and smashed, dirtied and dis honored ? The recent example that excites our wrath is the case of Wolf I.adejinsky. This man fled from the Ukraine when the Bolsheviks took over and eventually arrived in the United States broke, friendless and 1') years old. He worked, he learned the language, he put himself through Columbia university and finally landed a job with the govern ment as an agricultural economist. In 1945 he went to Japan to handle the farm policy under General MacArthur. He waded in dung-oozing paddy fields, he lived in cold huts and he went hungry. But the result was one of the greatest achieve ments of the occupation : A sweeping land reform that gave four million peasants their own land on easy terms. Ladejinsky went on to India and Formosa giving land reform advice. Always he was a living example of democracy. “Look," he would say, “I tied from the Bolsheviks. 1 went to the United States with nothing, yet I was able to work up to a position where I represent my adopted country in Asia." For his work, the Japanese government gave him a plaque for “great and lasting services." MacArthur awarded him a Cer tificate of ^Achievement and the U.S. Agri culture department gave him the "Superior Service award.” _ Two weeks ago, with no warning or ex planation, Ladejinsky was fired—picked up, broken and discarded. Repeatedly he had been checked and cleared by the State department. Hut in No vember a new law transferred U.S. agricul tural attaches from the State department to the Agriculture department. Ladejinsky was publicly blackballed by the Agriculture department oir the same charges that the State department’s rigid se curity department had evaluated and dis missed. Reasons : 1). he had never been close to American farming operations and prob lems and 2). he was a security risk (He had once traveled in Russia before World War II and has two sisters living there). This man who’s most effective anti communist argument had always been “look at my success in America,” now wonders “what will I tell them now?” Other good men who have recently been disgraced by the government’s tail-chasing security investigations are J. Robert Oppen heimer and John Patton Davis. Oppen heimer, the man behind the atomic bomb, was brought to trial on the basis of informa tion that had been known by security offi cers for years. He was proved unquestion ably discreet and unquestionably loyal, yet he was condemned as a security risk and disgraced before the world. Davis, a 23-year veteran in the diplomatic service, was recently fired on a “defects of character" charge. He was three years short of retirement and had survived eight gov ernment security checks. The main charge against him was disagreeing with the ad ministration's China policy 10 years ago. When men like these can be discarded and disgraced, it seems rather foolish for our generation to rise idealistically to the challenge of government service. If we want to bloody our heads and dirty our reputa tions we can surely find easier ways. —(D.L.) ’Show Business Film Dull and Too Lengthy By Len Calvert Emerald Columnitl Twentieth-Century Fox has taken some old and new Irving Berlin songs, added several stars frosted in Deluxe Color and come up with a mixture called “There’s No Business Like Show Business'’ and if all business has to be like that, there’s just no hope for the human race. Taking a rather tired plot of a vaudeville family, "The Five Donehues,” its successes, break up and inevitable reunion, the plot has been stretched by more than CinemaScope. We felt that it was from 15 to 30 minutes too long Berlin's songs, Including such standards us '‘Alexander’s Kug time Band," “Heat Wave," “Play a Simple .Melody,” and the title tune, of course, are all enjoyable except when Mari lyn Monroe tries to breathe in rhythm and Dallas ls»y Johnnie Hay contorts his facial muscles. Ethel Merman, long a favorite of ours, literally belts out her songs in her inimitable way. However, those who do not like Merman’s style won't like her any better in this show than those of the past. As Uie "Mother” of the Donehue brood. Miss Merman provided some the brighter spots in the extravaganza. Fresh, relaxing and fun to watch were Donald O’Connor and Mitzi Gaynor. As the "younger Donehues," these two blight stars added a lot to the movie, parti cularly In their dunce number*. However, It must be added that Mr. O’Connor's acting left mm h to be desired In Ids big "dra matic" scenes. One factor which we regretted itlsiut the movie was that Dan Dailey, who played the "father" of the family was not given more of an opportunity to show his acting wares. He was definitely hampered in the smallness of the part. Although “Alexander's llag tiine Hand" ts an admirable song and enjoyable, the song and danee sequence based on It was far too long, but per haps this was In keeping with the rest of the movie. The "ragtime" was awfully "dull time” after the song was sung the "regular” way three times In Scotch, French and Swiss dialects and In the “Johnnie Kay manner.” It was just too much. However we particularly en joyed the number done by Ft toe l Merman and Md/.i Gaynor to the song "A Sailor's Not a Sudor Till He's Been Tatooed." Their harmony was admirable, the number was well staged and the dancing excellent. Also well staged was the "Heat Wave" number featuring the ratiier plurnp ex-Mrs. DiMuggto. "There's No Business Like Show Business" Is an elaborate frame for Irving Berlin's music. But. to paraphrase a phrase, "if you don't like ‘Alexander’s Hag time Band,' there’s not much for you." The Grand Entrance Af. you hc«, MIhn Latour, uhen you come* in Inti* you dinturli tin* w hole clan*.” oreqon euu, ftiEQOLD Th» Oregon D.ily Emor.ld i. ,mbli.br,I lire ,l«y. « «r.k ,luring il,^ .,.|„».l re.r '“-T"'1 ,rr*,“"n hy •*>• S.iHlr.,1 CubllMlInn, R„aI,| „Mhi U.iirer. I> „l < £j£ .. -...*..5 «*» i0k.6AKPNE«,gjitg -' JEAN SANDYNg'.'l'ujitKW M PAnr k-, ,,1-’ m KW'S’ JA< KIK "'AKUKI.i; A.. f,M., ’^^isnSiiPtSslr- .... ra ras eh gS .. *pt anager I Jordon : r it i *'*"'*• *-><**•/ *\>an t hief Makeup Editor: Sam Valley Feature Editor: Dorothy Her Ass’t. Managing Editor: Anne Ritchey Asst. News Editors: Mary Alic. Allen, Anne Hill, Holt itolnnson riuef Ni«ht Editor: Valerie Hersli Asst. Sports Editor: Uuzz Nelson Office Manager: Hill Mamwarmg *•, AiW. Mur.: Mary Salazar < trculntion Mgr.: Rick llayilen A-s t. Office Mgr.: Marge Harmon Layout Manager: Dick Ko< Magnified Adv.: Helen U. (oliosou Morgue lulitor: Kathleen Morrison Woman’ll Page Co*editora: Sally Jo Greig, Marcia Mauncy
